| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | On the day when she died, her publicist, Larry Calhoun, was going through her fan mail, and there was a request from a fledging Black Theater Company in Los Angeles, California. |
| 2 | She was a member of the Negro Ensemble Company. |
| 3 | Her mother, Elizabeth Iris Rolle, died in 1981. She lived to be 88. |
| 4 | Esther Rolle passed away on November 17, 1998. 1 year after her death, the film Train Ride (2000) was dedicated to her. |
| 5 | Was named after her mother. |
| 6 | In her final interview, she said on the day of her 78th birthday, that she was glad, very happy; for some reason, when she was younger. Rolle never thought she'd lived to be 50. She lived to be age 78. |
| 7 | When she was hospitalized at Brotman Memorial Hospital in Culver City, California, she was hooked up to a kidney dialysis machine for 2 months. |
| 8 | Esther Rolle passed away on November 17, 1998, just 9 days after she celebrated her 78th and final birthday. |
| 9 | Just before her death, her ex-Good Times (1974) co-star, BernNadette Stanis, attended her acting mentor's 78th birthday party, during an Awards Gala in North Hollywood, California. |
| 10 | A gospel singer, she had a 1-hit wonder, "I Can Feel Him Moving," on her Christian album, "The Garden of My Mind.". |
| 11 | Became the first woman to receive the NAACP Chairman's Civil Rights Leadership Award for helping raise the image of blacks. |
| 12 | Created the character of Florida Evans on Maude (1972) and its spin-off show, Good Times (1974). |
| 13 | When Rolle received the lead role of Florida Evans on Good Times (1974), she insisted that the family be headed by a male figure. |
| 14 | Didn't have a successful acting career until she was 51; when she had a recurring role on Maude (1972). Since her character proved to be so popular, producer Norman Lear decided to have her in her own sitcom, starring on Good Times (1974), which Maude (1972) spun-off. |
| 15 | Was a heavy smoker. |
| 16 | Her character's last name on Maude (1972) and Good Times (1974), is also the same last name of one of her real-life sisters. |
| 17 | Her father, Jonathan Rolle, was a farmer, and her mother, Elizabeth Iris Rolle, was a housewife. |
| 18 | Before she was a successful actress, she was a member of Asadata Dafora's dance troupe, Shogolo Oloba; where she was the troup's director. |
| 19 | Survived by her stepdaughter, 1 brother and 2 sisters. |
| 20 | Her sisters Estelle Evans and Rosanna Carter made guest-appearances on Good Times (1974), with Rolle. |
| 21 | At the 1974 Tony Awards, she introduced her Good Times (1974) co-star, Ralph Carter, to sing the song, 'Sidewalk Tree.'. |
| 22 | Long lives ran in her family. |
| 23 | Her sister Estelle Evans died in 1985 and lived to be age 78. |
| 24 | She didn't start acting until she was age 39. |
| 25 | Her parents moved to Florida, sometime after their marriage. |
| 26 | Her stepdaughter, Sherley Mae Robinson, from her ex-husband's previous marriage, is 16 years younger than her. |
| 27 | Did not retire from acting. |
| 28 | Was 19 years older than John Amos, who played her husband on Good Times (1974). |
| 29 | Her ex-Good Times (1974) co-star, BernNadette Stanis said in an interview, Rolle had fixed her really good and became a good rolemodel for her. Whenever Stanis was late, Rolle would pick her up in the car and would memorize some lines. |
| 30 | Worked with Louis Gossett Jr. in episodes of both series: Good Times (1974) and Touched by an Angel (1994). |
| 31 | In 1939, when Rolle was age 18, she followed her two sisters to New York City. Her writing teacher talked her into taking acting classes instead. |
| 32 | Attended Yale University. |
| 33 | Aunt of Eliza, Ella and Estella. |
| 34 | Just before her death, Rolle was reunited with Bea Arthur on RuPaul's VH-1 talk show, where Rolle was brought out to surprise Arthur. This was the first time in over 25 years, they've last seen each other. |
| 35 | Rolle's family was gathered in the Bahamas; for her family reunion, in 1986. |
| 36 | Had no children. |
| 37 | Had a close working relationship with Bea Arthur on Maude (1972). |
| 38 | Before she was a successful actress, she worked in a traditional job in New York City's garment district. |
| 39 | Rolle was the tenth of eighteen children. |
| 40 | Of Bahamian immigrants. |
| 41 | Rolle always dyed her hair black until letting it go gray in the early 1990s. |
| 42 | Producer Norman Lear approached her for her first choice for Florida Evans on Maude (1972), before Good Times (1974), when he saw her performances on Broadway, she accepted the role. |
| 43 | Met John Amos on the set of Maude (1972), where he played Henry Evans, who later played her husband on Good Times (1974), as James Evans, Sr, for more than a couple of years, until his firing in 1976. |
| 44 | Was a diabetic. |
| 45 | Friends with: Bea Arthur, Bill Macy, Conrad Bain, Rue McClanahan, Marla Gibbs, Hal Williams, Helen Martin, Della Reese, Carroll O'Connor, Norman Lear, Gavin MacLeod, Bernie Kopell, Aaron Spelling, Ruby Dee, Maya Angelou, Louis Gossett Jr., Susan Harris, Moses Gunn, Alice Ghostley, Albert Reed, Estelle Evans, Rosanna Carter, Gerren Keith and Herbert Kenwith. |
| 46 | Her sister Rosanna Carter, passed away in 2001, at age 83, just 3 years after Rolle's death. |
| 47 | Inspired by her father, Rolle's elder siblings formed a drama group, that also toured Florida. |
| 48 | Despite the controversy, she enjoyed working with Ja'net DuBois on Good Times (1974). |
| 49 | Was 25 years older than Ja'net DuBois, who played her best friend (from high school) on Good Times (1974). |
| 50 | Rolle's birthplace, Pompano Beach, Florida, is about 10 miles North of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. |
| 51 | Her former Good Times (1974) co-star, Jimmie Walker, was the only actor not to attend her funeral. |
| 52 | Born and raised on a 10-acre farm in Florida. |
| 53 | Acting ran in her family. |
| 54 | Temporarily attended Booker T. Washington High School in Miami, Florida. |
| 55 | Graduated from Blache Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Florida, in 1938. |
| 56 | Acting mentor and friends of Ja'net DuBois, BernNadette Stanis, Jimmie Walker and Ralph Carter. |
| 57 | Best remembered by the public for her starring role as Florida Evans on Good Times (1974). |
| 58 | When she died in 1998, she left an estate valued in excess of $1.7 million including $200,000 in cash a $400,000 home, $1,072,000 in treasuries. In addition, she owned 1,000 shares of Bethdames Corporation, several Mutual Funds, and 2% interest in El Toro, Ltd. |
| 59 | Last film was Train Ride (2000), an independent feature-film written and directed by Rel Dowdell, which was shot on location at the oldest African-American college in the US at Cheyney University, Cheyney, Pennsylvania. She was also in Dowdell's multi-award winning short film version of "Train Ride", done while he was a graduate student at Boston University. She was appearing in "A Raisin in the Sun" at the Huntingdon Theatre in Boston at the time. |
| 60 | Buried at Westview Cemetery, Broward County, Pompano Beach, Florida. |
| 61 | Is an honorary member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. |
| 62 | Left Good Times (1974) after the 1976-1977 season due to her displeasure with the what she saw as the character of J.J. being a bad role model for young blacks. She returned at the beginning of the 1978-1979 season after the producers guaranteed that they would make J.J. a more respectable character. |
| 63 | Graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia in 1942. |
| 64 | Sister of Estelle Evans. |
| 65 | Sister of Rosanna Carter. |
| 66 | Originated the role of 'Dorcas Moulineaux' in Steve Carter's play, 'Dame Lorraine, " at the Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago on 27 March 1981. |
$950,000
